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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. file — a tool
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. mine — for digging
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. rash — a series
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. scale — size or range
  10. rash — hasty
  11. file — a line of people
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. chest — a box
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — of a word
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. scale — in music
  19. file — a document
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. root — the cause

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com